Think!
"Think!", originally composed by Merv Griffin as "A Time for Tony"[1] as a lullaby for his son Tony,a[›] has served as the Final Jeopardy! round countdown music since the show's debut in 1964.b[›] In America, "Think!" has insinuated itself into everyday communication; the theme has been used to score situations in which someone is waiting for another to answer a question or make a decision. "Think!" is often used at baseball stadiums when the manager goes out to the pitcher's mound to discuss a replacement, or during instant replay reviews, or at short-track races when officials are trying to ascertain the cause of an accident which may result in a penalty. On numerous shows, including The Jerry Springer Show and Boston Legal, the theme (or some variation thereof) is heard when a choice has to be made or a result is being awaited. Merv Griffin estimated that the Jeopardy! theme earned him royalties of over $70 million.[2] During the 2009 GSN Game Show Awards, "Think!" was named "Best Game Show Theme". Musical Structure The 30-second version of "Think!" has a tempo of 132 beats per minute, so that exactly thirty seconds elapse between the start of the first note and the start of the last two timpani hits at the end.[citation needed] The 1984 "main theme" recording of "Think!" is set at the same tempo. The introduction begins in B major and then transposes a semitone upward to C major. The main melody is first performed in F major, then upward to A-flat major and B major, downward to D major, with the F major and A-flat major portions repeated after that.[3] In the 1997 arrangement, the tempo is at about 120 beats per minute. The introduction begins in D major, then up a perfect fourth to G major, followed by the brass playing the notes D, a major second down to C, a perfect fourth up to F, a major second up to G, and a perfect fourth up to C, and the main melodies begin in F-major, and so forth. The F-major, A-flat major, and B-major sections are repeated. The 2001 arrangement had a structure similar to the 1997 one, except the tempo was at 136 beats per minute. And there were two versions with different introductions. In one version, the introduction is similar to the 1997 arrangement except it starts in C-major, then transposes up a minor third to E-flat major, then up a whole step to F-major, another whole step up to G-major, then the five notes leading into the main melodies. In the other version, the introduction began in A-flat major, transposed up a minor third to B major, followed the same five notes. Also, in both versions, there's a middle section in F major, then briefly moves a minor third down to D-minor, then to A-flat major, and back to F-major, and the main melodies repeat. The 2008 arrangement, at 132 beats per minute, starts in C-major, then moves up a minor third to E-flat major, and stays there while saxophones and electric guitars improvise, then repeats the C-major and E-flat main melodies, stays in E-flat while saxophones and guitars improvise again. The main melodies return, and the piece ends in E-flat. Main Theme The 1984 main theme consists of synthesizers and saxophones playing the main melodies. The introductions are all synthesizers, while the saxophone plays every other verse of the main melody. The original recording of the Final Jeopardy! "Think!" theme consisted of a celesta lead in the first verse and a flute lead in the second verse, ending with the timpani hitting the dominant and tonic notes of the second verse. The main theme was remixed in 1992 to include a bongo track. It was used for tournaments during Season 8, and was then put permanently into use at the start of Season 9. The 1997 arrangement of the main theme featured a more piano-driven, orchestral, jazzy sound. The introduction consists of the brass section, then the piano plays the first verse of the main melody. When the key moves up to A-flat major, the French horn and trumpet take turns playing the melody, then violins play the melody when it changes to B-major. Electric guitars and strings take turns playing the melody when the key changes to D-major. The F-major, A-flat major, and B major sections repeat, except there are electric guitar and saxophone improvs when the A-flat major and B-major sections repeat. The piece ends in B-major. The 1997 recording of the Final Jeopardy! "Think!" theme begins in C major and moves up a minor-third to E-flat. It originally consisted of only a piano lead all the way through. On the September 15, 1997 episode, the "Think!" theme was remixed to include a piano lead in the first verse and a trumpet lead in the second verse. Midway into Season 17 in 2001, the main theme was slightly updated. The arrangements were similar to the 1997 arrangement but they were at a faster tempo and had different introductions. As previously mentioned, the 2001 main theme consisted of a middle section before the main melodies repeat. The middle consists of development of the main melodies, accompanied by an electric guitar and saxophone taking turns improvising. A vamp of this theme was also used, without the guitar and saxophone. The second 1997 recording of the Final Jeopardy! "Think!" cue was retained for the final segment; it was slightly remastered midway into Season 22. The version of the 2001 main theme with the introduction similar to the 1997 recording was used for road tournaments and debuted in February 2001 when Jeopardy! aired episodes taped in Las Vegas, Nevada. The introduction in that version was played on brass, accompanied by ascending strings runs, and some saxophone riffs. As previously mentioned, a different introduction was used when the theme itself was put permanently into use on the April 23, 2001 episode. It begins with an electric guitar descending glissando, and then features strings and saxophone runs. The current arrangement of the main theme, composed by Chris Bell Music, uses the same instruments as the 1997 and 2001 arrangements, except the brass is muted all the way through, the French horn is omitted, and the piece consists of a different structure than the previous arrangements. There's an introduction with the bass note beginning on D, moving up to E on a 6-3 C chord, a half-step up to F, then a 6-4 chord with G in the bass. The main melodies begin in C major, played on violins, piano, and electric guitar, then moves up to E-flat major. The key stays in E-flat while the electric guitar and saxophone have solos. Then the main melodies return. There is another section where it stays in E-flat after the main melodies, this time with the saxophone starting the solo section, then the electric guitar comes in with a solo. Then, the main melodies return. The piece ends with the trumpet starting on A-flat, moving a perfect fourth upward to D-flat, and up a perfect-fourth to G-flat and staying there, and finishes the piece on E-flat. Originally, this version of the main theme didn't use the electric guitar until the second set of solos. But shortly after the start of Season 25, this arrangement was re-orchestrated to include the electric guitar in all sections of the main melodies and in both sections of solos. The Final Jeopardy! "Think!" music in this package this time begins in F-major and modulates up a minor-third to A-flat major. The instrumentation consists of a string section, piano, French horn, flute, harp, timpani, and woodblocks. When the package debuted at the start of the 25th Season, the "Think!" theme had a piano, pizzicato strings, French horn and flute lead in the first verse, accompanied by the woodblocks. In the second verse, the strings played arco (using normal bowing technique following a pizzicato passage). A harp glissando preceded the final three notes. The final two notes were played by both pizzicato strings and the timpani this time. This version of the "Think!" cue was nicknamed the "leaky faucet" by many Jeopardy! fans, due to the prominence of the woodblock percussion. On the October 13, 2008 episode, the "Think!" theme was remixed, with a more prominent piano lead in the first and the woodblocks less prominent. From September 10, 1984 until November 8, 1996, a laser swooshing sound effect was used in the introduction Alex Trebek era Beginning with the Alex Trebek-hosted syndicated version on September 10, 1984, a rendition of "Think!" was used as the main theme. The original recordings of the main theme were composed by Merv Griffin. The main theme was remixed in 1992 to include a bongo track, first introduced in Season 8 for tournament play and then put into permanent use at the start of Season 9. At the start of Season 14, a new version of both the main theme and "Think!" music was rolled out, arranged by Steve Kaplan. The main theme was updated again in 2001, with arrangements similar to the previous versions but looser and more upbeat. This arrangement premiered in February 2001 when Jeopardy! aired celebrity episodes and the International Tournament taped in Las Vegas, Nevada, and then was put permanently into use on the April 23, 2001 episode. An all-new arrangement of both the main theme and "Think!" music was created for the show by Chris Bell Music at the beginning of Season 25.[4] The theme music has undergone slight re-orchestrations since Other versions Rock & Roll Jeopardy! used an electric guitar-based version of "Think!" The music has since been used on the parent show leading to and coming out of commercial breaks during College Championships, Teen Tournaments, recent Kids Weeks, and the 2006 celebrity episodes taped at Radio City Music Hall, starting in Season 20. During a few of these tournaments, it was also played during the Final Jeopardy! round. Starting in Season 23, it was played during the introductions beginning with the 2007 Teen Tournament. Jep! used a different version of "Think!" for its main theme, similar to that of the Rock & Roll version. So far, it has never been used on the regular show. Sports Jeopardy also used a marching band remix for it's theme similar to the 2001 episode that had the UCLA Marching Band. Alternate music Alternate versions of "Think!" were a college-style version played by the UCLA Marching Band during the 2001 College Championship, another college-style version performed by the Yale Whiffenpoofs during the 2003 College Championship, and a baseball-style version played by organist Trent Johnson during the final Celebrity Jeopardy! show at Radio City Music Hall in 2006. Five different piano arrangements were used during the show's first trip to New York City in 1999. On an episode aired in May 2007, a pipe organ player aboard the Orient Express played a piano version of the "Think!" music. On at least one occasion, the "Think!" theme was not played at all during Final Jeopardy! In Episode #3984, the main theme was not played during the closing credits, there was no applause and the Chorale and Clue Crew member Cheryl Farrell sang "Carol of the Bells". Before, during, and after Alex Trebek's reading of the Final Jeopardy! clue for Episode #3985, the L.A. Spirit Chorale sang a live, a cappella "Silent Night", with Farrell on lead vocals. Music